June 2, 2005
Finnish start-up set to benefit from mobile video
Steadily improving cameras on cellular phones are opening up a huge market for mobile video technology, the head of Hantro, a private Finnish technology firm, told Reuters in an interview.
"Last year alone, 257 million mobile phones, 38 percent of the total, were sold with a built-in camera. A rising portion of these can capture small video clips, using software developed by small technology companies such as closely held Hantro, based in the Finnish town of Oulu near the polar circle.
At the moment there is a huge rush to the market. Everyone has understood that next year there will be 400 million small video camcorders sold, and everyone wants a piece of it," said Eero Kaikkonen, Hantro's chief executive.
Hantro's technology is in 20 million mobile phones already, and the firm's smaller rivals are mostly based in Japan and South Korea, Kaikkonen said.
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